- Opening Times
The Fossil Grove will reopen in Easter 2011
Opening times may vary on a seasonal basis, but are generally 10am until 4pm, seven days a week between Easter and the end of September. Please call 0141 276 1695 to confirm opening times before your visit.
- Location
Victoria Park
Victoria Park Drive North
Glasgow
G14
Travel
- Rail - There are train stations at Hyndland and Jordanhill, both are approximately a fifteen minute walk away
- Bus - Various routes operate from the city centre to Dumbarton Road, Crow Road and Balshagray Avenue all within five minutes walk from the park gates
- Car - There is some parking around the park perimeter, particularly at Victoria Park Drive North
For further travel information visit Traveline Scotland
Fossil Grove - Further Information
Situated in Victoria Park, in the west of the city, it is operated by Glasgow City Council's Department of Land and Environmental Services. The tree stumps are the remains of an ancient forest, around 330 million years old. Debris from these huge forests eventually formed the coal seams that helped Glasgow grow into a major industrial city. Fossil Grove is one of the most famous in-situ Carboniferous forest examples in the world.
These fossilised tree stumps were discovered in 1887 when an old quarry was being landscaped as part of the work during the creation of the park, and the fossil trees were uncovered by removal of the surrounding rocks. Careful excavation of the site uncovered the fossil remains, and a building was erected to protect them from the elements. Today at the Fossil Grove, you will see a small corner of a vast ancient forest, preserved in stone.
Features
The most obvious feature of the site is the 11 fossil tree stumps, some of them up to 90 centimetres high. They are preserved in the position in which they once grew. A fallen trunk, about eight metres long, and other smaller fragments of branch and root, have also survived. They are the fossil remains of an extinct type of plant known as a giant clubmoss (Lepidodendron).
When these trees were alive, Glasgow’s climate was hot, damp and steamy. The trees grew in a tropical swamp similar to today’s Florida Everglades. (At that time, the equator was actually close to East Kilbride). Giant centipedes and spiders crawled through the swampy forests of these large trees and giant dragonflies flew above.
After the clubmoss trees died, their interiors rotted, leaving them hollow. Gradually sand and mud carried by huge rivers buried the tree stumps and the sediment around then completely enclosed them, eventually turning into sandstone. Millions of years later, molten lava from volcanoes was forced between these sandstone layers. The lava cooled and formed whinstone, and this hard rock layer protected the fossil trees from erosion.
Importance
Scottish Natural Heritage has designated the grove a site of Special Scientific Interest, and it is also designated as a Regionally Important Geological / Geomorphological Site.
In addition to the importance of the fossilised stumps, the building itself is important because not only is the Fossil grove one of the world’s oldest examples of conservation of a geological site, it was the first to be preserved by a building.
A viewing balcony overlooks the fossils, and small displays provide information and interpret the site for visitors.
Read more about the history of The Fossil Grove
Disabled Access
Contact Details
Land and Environmental Services
General Enquiries
Phone: 0141 287 5918
E-mail: les@glasgow.gov.uk